Vipera lotievi

Vipera lotievi
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Viperidae
Genus:	Vipera
Species:	V. lotievi
Binomial name
Vipera lotievi Nilson, Tuniyev, Orlov, Höggren & Andrén, 1995
Synonyms
Vipera lotievi Nilson et al., 1995 [1] Vipera (Pelias) lotievi — Nilson et al., 1999 Vipera lotievi — McDiarmid, Campbell & Touré, 1999 Vipera renardi lotievi — Dely & Joger, 2005 Pelias lotievi — Wallach et al., 2014 [2]

Vipera lotievi, commonly known as the Caucasian meadow viper ^[3] and Lotiev's viper, ^[4] is a species of venomous snake in the family Viperidae. The species is native to Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Russia. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid. ^[5]

Etymology

The specific name, lotievi, is in honor of Russian herpetologist K. Yu Lotiev, ^[4] who collected the holotype and some of the paratypes. ^[6]

Description

V. lotievi may grow to a maximum total length (tail included) of 60 cm (24 in). ^[3]

Reproduction

V. lotievi is viviparous. ^[2]

Range

V. lotievi is found in the higher range of the Big Caucasus mountain range in Russia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.

The type locality is listed as "Armkhi, Checheno-Ingushetia, Russia, below Mt. Stolovaya, 2000 m altitude" ^[1] [Armkhi, Respublika Ingushetiya, Russia, ^[7] 6,600 ft].

References

1. McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré TA (1999). Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN   1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN   1-893777-01-4 (volume).
2. Species Vipera lotievi at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
3. Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G (2003). True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. ISBN   0-89464-877-2.
4. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN   978-1-4214-0135-5. (Lotiev, p. 161).
5. "Vipera lotievi ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 18 August 2006.
6. Nilson, Tuniyev, et al. (1995). pp. 21–22.
7. Google Earth.

Further reading

• Nilson G, Höggren M, Tuniyev BS, Orlov NL, Andrén C (1994). "Phylogeny of the Vipers of the Caucasus (Reptilia, Viperidae)". Zoologica Scripta23 (4): 353-360.
• Nilson G, Tuniyev BS, Orlov N, Höggren M, Andrén C (1995). "Systematics of the Vipers of the Caucasus: Polymorphism or Sibling Species?" Asiatic Herpetological Research6: 1-26. (Vipera lotievi, new species, pp. 21–24, Figure 22).